The Ketamine Trail (Chapter 3)

[Roses are Red]

So, hi, I'm new, even though I probably shouldn't say that. I hope the title is okay, I wasn't sure if drug references were allowed. Well, I'm not new to fanfics but this is my newest one. Chapters will get longer, this intro just didn't fit into any real arcs. So...yeah.

The Ketamine Trail

Introduction – This Tangled Web I Weave

Forests are always the scenes of tranquility. The thick branches blocked out what remained of the afternoon sun. Pidgeys shuffled from limb to limb, chirping amongst themselves. A few Bidoof scouted out trees to gnaw down to make into wood for a dam. A Shroomish had sauntered out to gripe at the beavers for messing with his tree. The four would probably talk civilly amongst themselves before going their separate ways.

Then the F-bomb dropped on this serene setting. The sound wave scattered the frightened Pidgeys into the blue sky above. Fear gripped the four grounded Pokemon as the waves washed over them. They squeaked and vanished into the trees. Ancient redwoods cringed at the blast, shuddering as the last vibrations rolled through them. Scooting further into the woods, the offender was identified. The woman sat huddled on the ground, clutching her right leg. She sucked air in through her clenched teeth. Another swear rumbled from her throat as a Poochyena looked on. His head cocked to the side as he watched the human writhe on the ground. The red eyes were concerned but he sat back, waiting for her to calm herself. The last time he had come near her during one of her episodes, she had kicked him. So he stayed out of her reach until the tears cleared out of her eyes.

Shaking, she managed to snap her fingers. Standing, the canine gently plucked her cane off of the dirt and handed it to her. “Go find the damn rabbit. I’m not moving anywhere.”

Faithfully, he set off into the woods with nostrils flaring. Alone, she braced the cane on the ground and tried to lever herself up. She fell back on her backside and swore loudly. “Stupid forest and its stupid roots and its stupid dirt,” she babbled. “Don’t know why I thought of this in the first place.” One hand gripped a knot in one of the trees. Grunting, she dragged herself to her feet. Pain lanced through her right knee as it protested straightening out. She leaned against the rough bark and stretched out the poor limb. It screamed at her and she glared at it. “Damn it leg, work with me.”

The thudding paws alerted her to the Poochyena’s approach. He came bearing the terrified rabbit in his jaws like a retriever with a felled bird. The poor creature trembled from head to foot and squealed when he saw her. The canine let him go and watched the cowardly Pokemon fly through the air to hide in her bag. His huge feet kicked against her sore back and she hissed, earning a fearful squeak. She grinned at the Poochyena while he rolled his eyes. “You’re no fun, Hellhound. Now come on, I think that bush back there was poison ivy,” she remarked, scratching at her elbow.

The Poochyena smiled, fangs poking out of his mouth. He lumbered peacefully beside her leg as they made their way.

~--~

“Hello? This thing on? Testing, one two three, I fly free? Okay, I think it’s working. So hi. I’m just trying out this recording option on this new contraption. Seriously, what happened to just plain old PokeDexes? Well, um, my name’s Iz, or that’s my nickname. My full name is Elizabeth Queen. It’s the twenty-fourth of March and I’m twenty-five and just starting out on this crazy journey. Really, I’m just trying to escape from the world. Hopefully my parole officer doesn’t find me here. This region’s on the other side of the freaking world.

“So, a little about myself I guess. Um, well, I really don’t want to give out much because, hello prison. If any kids find this, drugs are bad. Drugs are really bad and never do them. Never, ever, ever. I know this is one of the drug capitals of the world but don’t fall into the hype. That should be enough without giving that away. Well, I’m in a region called Madas. It’s a little region by cities but it’s pretty vast land wise. I think there’s like three major cities here? Really sucks from my perspective. And there’s no, like, bus to get there either. All walking and all in the freaking wild. Like today. A ten mile trek through the woods from the official first town. I got a rash starting on my arm that I think is poison ivy. And it only gets longer after this. I haven’t walked that much since I was, well, eight. I don’t need any grief, Orthrus. You can shove it.

“Some info about the jerks then. Well, only one is being a jerk now, the other is hiding under my bed. The Poochyena in front of me with a smug look on his face is Orthrus Hellhound. Right now, I’m tempted to bring the cane out to see how he likes it. I bought him off some perverted kid who wanted me to flash him. I managed to get away with just buying him a Playboy.

“The rabbit is apparently a Bunaway. Who the hell comes up with these names? It’s apparently equivalent to the Sentret of this region except it has a third evolution because the first stage is so bad. There’s nothing really special about him; he’s just a rabbit with big eyes. In fact, I didn’t even catch him: he caught himself. He just appeared outta nowhere and hid in my bag in fear. I guess he hit a Poke ball on the way in. Either way, I’ve named him Jack Yellowtail because he’s a freaking coward.”

~--~

Iz paused for a moment and considered what she had just said. She twirled the slim machine in her fingers being careful not the touch the sensitive screen. Orthrus watched her with smiling red eyes as he stretched out on the bed. His paws kneaded the faded quilt he had claimed. She sighed and turned the recorder function off. It found its home back in her bag and she leaned back against the pillow. “I guess we go scout around tomorrow, do all the things a trainer does and whatnot. What do trainers do?” That earned her a shrug. “You’re no help,” she grumbled. Her leg shrieked as she moved it and she hissed. Wary eyes watched as she gently lowered the abused limb onto a pillow of its own. Fingers traced over ugly scars before she drew her hand away. Memories danced in her eyes briefly before she closed them. “Let’s go to bed. We gotta figure out what we’re going to do tomorrow early. Which means no sleeping in till noon.” He frowned, looking very intimidating with his large fangs.

She lied down, flipping off the dim light of the lamp. Orthrus’ eyes shone brightly for a moment before they closed. “Night,” she mumbled. There was a squeak from somewhere under the bed from Jack who had made himself a den out of a pillow and a blanket. He curled up into a ball in the darkness. Orthrus watched the human as she struggled to get comfortable. His ears stay tuned on her until she began to drift, sprawled very unladylike. A grunt rumbled from his throat as he finally curled up, his job done for the night.